University of Missouri
MAC Championships Day 2
Mizzou Wrestling Claims Ninth-Straight Conference Tournament Crown
3/8/2020 4:04:00 PM | Wrestling
Mauller earns second conference title while Tigers qualify six to NCAA Championships
Photo Gallery | Team Standings | Individual Results and Allocations | Recap | Hear From Coach Smith
DeKALB, Ill. – Mizzou Wrestling claimed its ninth-straight conference tournament title and eighth-straight MAC Tournament Championship, scoring 142.0 team points as the two-day event ended Sunday (March 8). Mizzou has won the MAC tournament every year since joining the league for the 2012-13 season, and dating back to 2011-12 when it won the Big 12 Tournament, Mizzou has won nine consecutive conference tournament titles. The Tigers finished 21 points ahead of second-place Central Michigan.
Individually, Mizzou sophomore 149-pounder Brock Mauller earned a title and Mizzou had seven wrestlers finish in the top three of their weight classes. Allan Hart (133), Jarrett Jacques (157) and Dylan Wisman (184) all earned runner-up nods.
Of course, the conference championships are a time to dole out NCAA allocations as well, and six Tigers ended Sunday with automatic qualifications to this month's NCAA Championships at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Joining Mauller is 133-pounder Hart (second place at MACs), 141-pounder Grant Leeth (third place at MACs), 157-pounder Jacques (second place at MACs), 174-pounder Connor Flynn (third place at MACs) and 184-pounder Wisman (second place at MACs).
Aside from Mauller, Flynn was the story of the day, winning three bouts to finish third and qualify for the NCAA Championships. He tech falled the conference's top seed at 174 to open the day, then pinned the No. 2 seed to move into the third-place bout. He grinded out a 7-0 decision to take home the bronze.
Below are this year's standings following the opening day of action:
- Mizzou – 142.0
- Central Michigan – 121.0
- Northern Illinois – 90.5
- Rider – 84.5
- Lock Haven – 82.0
- Old Dominion – 68.0
- Cleveland State – 64.0
- Ohio – 58.5
- Kent State – 51.5
- Buffalo – 49.5
- Edinboro – 45.5
- Clarion – 39.5
- George Mason – 39.0
- Bloomsburg – 32.5
- SIU-Edwardsville – 31.0
- 125 Pounds: No. 4 Seed Cameron Valdiviez (19-12) – Fifth Place – Will Need Wild Card for NCAAs
- First round vs. Gage Datlovsky (SIU-E) – W, 16-0 Technical Fall (5:09)
- Second round vs. Bryce West (NIU) – W, Fall (6:03)
- Semifinals vs. Drew Hildebrandt (CMU) – L, 11-2 Major Decision
- Consolation round vs. Luke Werner (Lock Haven) – L, Fall (4:44)
- Fifth-place match vs. Logan Heil (Cleveland State) – W, Fall (1:17)
- 133 Pounds: No. 3 Seed Allan Hart (19-9) – Second Place - Earns Spot at NCAA Championships
- First round vs. Caleb Brooks (NIU) – W, 12-1 (3:47 RT) Major Decision
- Second round vs. Richie Koehler (Rider) – W, 10-4
- Semifinals Derek Spann (Buffalo) – W, 5-3 (SV-1)
- Finals vs. Tim Rooney (Kent State) – L, 3-1 (SV-1)
- 141 Pounds: No. 5 Seed Grant Leeth (15-5) – Third Place - Earns Spot at NCAA Championships
- First round vs. Alex Blake (Clarion) – W, 23-6 Technical Fall (6:51)
- Second round vs. Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven) – W, 4-2
- Semifinals vs. Dresden Simon (Central Michigan) – L, 18-3 Technical Fall (6:48)
- Consolation round vs. Alex Madrigal (George Mason) – W, 6-2 (1:24 RT)
- Third-place match vs. Sa`Derian Perry (Old Dominion) – W, 4-3
- 149 Pounds: No. 1 Seed Brock Mauller (28-1) – MAC Champion - Earns Spot at NCAA Championships
- First round vs. Kody Komara (Kent State) – W, 4-0 (2:00 RT)
- Second round vs. Corbyn Munson (Central Michigan) – W, 10-4
- Semifinals vs. Tyshawn Williams (SIU-E) – W, 6-4
- Finals vs. Brock Zacherel (Clarion) – W, 5-2
- 157 Pounds: No. 3 Seed Jarrett Jacques (25-7) – Second Place - Earns Spot at NCAA Championships
- First round vs. Taylor Ortz (Clarion) – W, 7-4
- Second round vs. Logan Parks (Central Michigan) - W, 12-3 Major Decision
- Semifinals vs. Zac Carson (Ohio) – W, Fall (4:57)
- Finals vs. Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) – L, 4-0 (1:16 RT)
- 165 Pounds: No. 2 Seed Peyton Mocco (25-12) – Third Place – Will Need A Wild Card
- First round vs. Kade Byland (Kent State) – W, 16-1 Technical Fall (3:37 RT)
- Second round vs. Derek Ciavarro (Edinboro) – W, 7-4
- Semifinals vs. Izzak Olejnik (NIU) – L, 6-3
- Consolation round vs. Riley Smucker (Cleveland State) – W, 10-1 Major Decision (1:24 RT)
- Third-place match vs. Joseph Terry (Ohio) – W, 9-1 Major Decision
- 174 Pounds: No. 4 Connor Flynn (22-8) – Third Place - Earns Spot at NCAA Championships
- First round vs. Bryson Alsteen (Buffalo) – W, 17-1 Technical Fall (4:42)
- Second round vs. Jared Siegrist (Lock Haven) - L, 3-2
- Consolation round vs. Kevin Gschwendtner (SIU-E) – W, 14-4 (3:59 RT)
- Consolation round vs. Jacob Oliver (Edinboro) – W, 17-0 Technical Fall (2:43)
- Consolation round vs. Dean Sherry (Rider) – W, Fall (1:11)
- Third-place match vs. Kenny Moore (Northern Illinois) – W, 7-0
- 184 Pounds: No. 2 Dylan Wisman (19-8) – Second Place - Earns Spot at NCAA Championships
- First round vs. Hunter Yeargan (Ohio) – W, Fall (4:55)
- Second round vs. Peter Acciardi (Buffalo) – W, Fall (6:18)
- Semifinals vs. George Walton (Rider) – W, DQ
- Finals vs. Brit Wilson (NIU) – L, 8-5
- 197 Pounds: No. 3 Wyatt Koelling (20-7) – No Place
- First round vs. Timothy Young (Old Dominion) – L, 6-4
- Consolation round vs. Aric Bohn (SIU-E) – W, 6-0 (1:28 RT)
- Consolation round vs. Benjamin Smith (Cleveland State) – L, 3-1
- 285 Pounds: Jake Bohlken (12-16) – Eighth Place
- First round vs. Colton McKiernan (SIU-E) – W, 3-2 (1:09 RT)
- Second round vs. Ryan Cloud (Rider) – L, 2-1 (TB-2)
- Consolation round vs. Jake Slinger (George Mason) – W, 3-2
- Consolation round vs. John Kelbly (Cleveland State) – L, 6-1 (1:39 RT)
- Seventh-place match vs. Colton McKiernan (SIU-E) – L, 3-1 (3:02 RT)
Mizzou senior 174-pounder Connor Flynn was first up for the Tigers in the consolation round Sunday, facing top-seeded Jacob Oliver while needing two wins to guarantee a spot at the NCAA Championships in two weeks. Flynn posted a first-period technical fall win over Oliver, 17-0 in just 2:43, to set up a chance to wrestle second-seeded Dean Sherry of Rider for a chance to qualify for NCAAs, and advance to the third-place bout. He then put Sherry on his back in just 1:11 to move to the third-place match and earn a spot at the NCAA Championships.
141-pounder Grant Leeth then punched his ticket to Minneapolis with a 6-2 win over George Mason's Alex Madrigal, advancing to the third-place match. Peyton Mocco moved to the 165-pound third-place match with a 10-1 major decision over Cleveland State's Riley Smucker, keeping his hopes for an NCAA berth alive.
After the morning's consolation bouts, the championships moved to the finals and placement matches. 125-pounder Cameron Valdiviez kicked things off by pinning Cleveland State's Logan Heil in just 1:17 to capture fifth place, but will need a wild card to advance to the NCAA Championships as the MAC only had three allocations at the weight.
First up in the finals for Mizzou was redshirt sophomore Allan Hart at 133 pounds. Looking to avenge a January pin by Kent State's Tim Rooney, Hart wrestled him to a 1-1 tied after seven minutes. In the sudden victory period, Rooney caught Hart for a takedown to secure the 3-1 win, as Hart had to settle for second place. At 141 pounds, Leeth won the third-place bout over Sa'Darian Perry (Old Dominion) with a 4-3 decision, using a takedown with 53 seconds left to secure the win. He trailed 3-1 heading into the third, but rallied to capture the bronze medal.
At 149 pounds, Brock Mauller looked dominant and was never really tested in a 5-2 decision over Brock Zacherel as he claimed his second consecutive MAC title. Jarrett Jacques was looking to capture his second straight title at 157, but faced top-seed and fifth-ranked Jesse Dellavecchia of Rider in the finals. Jacques took plenty of shots, but Delavecchia's defense was too good, as Jacques settled for second after a 4-0 loss.
At 165, Mocco earned a 9-1 major decision over Ohio's Joseph Terry to earn third place. Mocco needed Izzak Olejnik to defeat Buffalo's Troy Keller to set up a criteria match for an NCAA berth, but Keller won 9-5. Mocco will now need a wild card to advance to the national tournament as the league only qualified two spots for the NCAA Championships, which will go to the two who reached the final.
At 174 pounds, Flynn continued his domination with a methodical 7-0 decision over NIU's Kenny Moore to secure third place. On the day, he defeated the No. 1, 2 and 6 seeds, two of which coming via bonus-point decisions.
Wisman lost to NIU's Brit Wilson 8-5 behind a raucous home crowd that was behind Wilson, as Wisman settled for second place.
Bohlken wrestled SIU-E's Colton McKiernan for seventh place to round out the day and dropped a 3-1 decision to close Mizzou's weekend. He finished eighth.
"I'm really proud of our guys for how they competed all weekend," Coach Smith said. "There were a lot of people midway through the season questioning whether or not we would even win this tournament. Guys stepped up all weekend up and down the lineup, in the wrestlebacks and in the consolation brackets. Brock did what he's been doing all year and I'm excited to go see him chase a national title. Proud of our guys this weekend."
The NCAA Championships will begin Thursday, March 19 in Minneapolis and will run through that Saturday night (March 21). It will be held at US Bank Stadium, home of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings in front of what is expected to be the largest crowd to every watch a college wrestling event.
For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on social media (MizzouWrestling on Twitter and Instagram, and Missouri Wrestling on Facebook).
Players Mentioned
